Who says wearables have to be expensive to be cool? Certainly not Misfit, which debuted its latest product offering, the Flash Link, on Thursday for the breezy price of just $19.99. Essentially identical to the Misfit Flash, minus the wristband that makes it more similar to traditional wearables like the Fitbit, the Link (available in four colors) is simply a squeezable clicker placed atop a plastic disc, complete with a battery that provides all the power you need.
When connected to the Misfit Flash app, the Link becomes a remote control of sorts, allowing you to do a number of things, including pausing or playing a song, taking a selfie, flipping through slides, or working as a fitness tracker. The only caveat is that the Link cannot be programmed to control multiple apps simultaneously, which means that you’d have to either switch back and forth between functionalities within the app, or just buy another Link. And given the low asking price, keeping a couple on hand might not be such a stretch.
Currently, the Misfit Flash app is available on Apple devices, with the Android version to be released next month. And in addition to the current features already available by way of the Link, Misfit also plans on releasing more functionality, “including IFITT and Logitech Harmony integrations.” The Flash app works not only with this latest product offering, but also with the more established Misfit Shine and original Misfit Flash. Both of these devices have also been marked down in an overall push to make the company’s wearables more affordable — you can now own a Shine for under $70, and a Flash for under $30.
While Misfit and its devices have traditionally been branded as specializing in fitness, the company seems to be branching out, attempting to connect the world with a sort of universal remote control that may not have anything to do with keeping track of your vitals and/or sleep patterns at all. And if it works, they may be opening new doors for wearable technology across the board.
